Tri-CRI Meets with Cardinal Peter Turkson
Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, who was the primary author of Laudato Si’, was in New York this month and we were pleased to have the opportunity to not only, see him speak, but also meet with him. He was the keynote speaker at a session entitled “Catholics, Capitalism, and the Climate,” at Molloy College on February 17th. In our meeting with Cardinal Turkson, we shared the work of the Tri-State Coalition and Catholic institutions, along with ICCR, in great depth. We covered the history of our work, efforts related to human trafficking and modern day slavery, concerns around water, sustainable agriculture, GMOs, food commodities, access to medicines, and climate change, and work in community investments, climate finance, and responsible banking. Cardinal Turkson shared his thoughts on the numerous ways in which the work of the Pontifical Council intersects with our mission. Based on this meeting, we are hopeful that we can be resources for each other and support our shared work to encourage justice and peace. One way might be by providing a greater link to global Catholic communities impacted by corporate operations throughout the world.
Later that afternoon, Cardinal Turkson delivered the Keynote Address at “Catholics, Capitalism, and the Climate,” focusing on the contributions of Laudato Si’ to these topics. Cardinal Turkson elaborated that creation established a “three-fold level of relationship for the human person: with God (creator), with other human persons in a bond of fraternity and with the world as the garden-home for our existence.”